Chapter 2 - Vanishing Without a Trace
Three months later, Dominic Moretti had searched twenty-seven cities.
Lena had vanished anyway.
He had private investigators searching hospitals, airports, credit cards, employment records, phone accounts, rental applications, traffic cameras, and school districts.
Nothing.
She had made one mistake.
The prenatal vitamin receipt.
And even that told him almost nothing.
Dominic sat behind the desk in his private office while Vincent placed another folder in front of him.
“No confirmed sightings.”
Dominic did not touch it.
“You said that yesterday.”
“And the day before.”
“Then stop walking in here with nothing.”
Vincent remained calm.
“You’re asking me to find a woman who knows exactly why she shouldn’t be found.”
Dominic looked up.
“That sounds like an excuse.”
“It’s an explanation.”
Dominic pushed the folder away.
Vincent exhaled.
“You want my opinion?”
“No.”
“You’re getting it.”
Dominic leaned back.
Vincent had known him since they were sixteen. He was one of the few people alive who could speak freely in this room.
“You’re searching too aggressively.”
Dominic stared at him.
Vincent continued.
“If she sees people asking questions, she moves again. If she notices a car twice, she moves. If someone from her old school gets contacted, she hears about it and moves.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“So what do you suggest?”
“Back off.”
“No.”
“Dom.”
“She’s carrying my child.”
“And she thinks you might kill her because she witnessed an execution.”
Dominic stood so fast his chair struck the wall.
“I would never touch her.”
“I know that.”
“She knows that.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow.
“Does she?”
The question landed harder than Dominic expected.
Vincent lowered his voice.
“She saw one version of you for eight months. Then she saw another version for four minutes.”
Dominic said nothing.
“Which one do you think she believes now?”
Dominic walked toward the window.
Chicago stretched beneath him.
Somewhere in the city—or somewhere hundreds of miles away—Lena was carrying his child.
Alone.
Because of him.
“What if she needs something?” Dominic asked.
Vincent’s expression changed slightly.
“What?”
“Money. A doctor. Security.”
“She survived before she met you.”
“That’s not the point.”
“It might be the point to her.”
Dominic turned.
“I want her found.”
Vincent nodded slowly.
“Alive. Safe. Untouched.”
“Yes.”
“And when we find her?”
Dominic looked toward the city again.
“I don’t know.”
Lena’s pregnancy reached sixteen weeks in a small house outside Madison.
Rachel had helped her find a temporary job doing administrative work for a private tutoring center.
She avoided social media.
She paid cash whenever possible.
She changed her hairstyle.
She stopped using her old email accounts.
For the first time in her life, being invisible became a skill.
At her ultrasound appointment, Rachel sat beside her.
The technician moved the wand carefully.
“There,” she said.
A heartbeat filled the room.
Fast.
Strong.
Lena stared at the monitor.
Her eyes filled.
Rachel smiled.
“That’s your baby.”
Lena laughed through her tears.
“My baby.”
The technician adjusted the image.
“Would you like to know the sex?”
Lena hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Yes.”
A minute later, the technician smiled.
“You’re having a boy.”
Lena covered her mouth.
A son.
Dominic’s son.
The thought came automatically.
She hated herself for it.
Rachel squeezed her hand.
“Hey.”
“I’m okay.”
“You sure?”
Lena nodded.
But that night, she sat alone near the kitchen window with the ultrasound photograph in her hand.
She imagined Dominic holding it.
She imagined his expression.
Would he smile?
Would he cry?
Would he become protective?
Possessive?
Would he try to take her son into the same violent world he had inherited?
Lena had no way to know.
That uncertainty was exactly why she had run.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Her entire body froze.
Rachel looked up from across the room.
“Don’t answer.”
Lena stared at the screen.
It stopped.
Then rang again.
Unknown number.
Rachel stood.
“Give it to me.”
Lena shook her head.
“What if it’s the clinic?”
“They’ll leave a message.”
The call stopped again.
Thirty seconds later, a voicemail notification appeared.
Lena stared at it.
Rachel whispered, “Don’t.”
But Lena pressed play.
A man’s voice filled the room.
Not Dominic.
“Ms. Carter, this is Dr. Kaplan’s office calling to confirm your appointment Monday morning. Please call us if you need to reschedule.”
Lena exhaled so hard she nearly laughed.
Rachel sank back into her chair.
“You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
“I thought it was him.”
“I know.”
Lena looked down at the ultrasound photograph.
Rachel watched her carefully.
“You want him to call.”
“No.”
“You’re scared he’ll call.”
“Yes.”
“That wasn’t what I said.”
Lena looked away.
Rachel softened.
“You can miss someone and still know they’re dangerous.”
“I don’t miss who he really is.”
“You miss who you thought he was.”
Lena’s voice dropped.
“What if that man was real too?”
Rachel did not answer.
Because both of them knew that was the problem.
At twenty-four weeks, Dominic finally found something.
A medical insurance inquiry.
The name was not Lena Carter.
But the birth date matched.
So did an old emergency contact number connected to Rachel Walker.
Vincent entered Dominic’s office carrying the printout.
“We have a possible location.”
Dominic was already standing.
“Where?”
“Wisconsin.”
The room seemed to change.
Dominic took the paper.
“Madison area.”
“We don’t know if it’s her.”
“It’s her.”
“Dom.”
“It’s her.”
Vincent watched him reach for his jacket.
“You can’t just show up.”
Dominic stopped.
“Why not?”
“Because she’ll run again.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
Vincent stepped closer.
“If she’s pregnant, she’s probably almost six months along. You corner her now, she panics.”
“I’m not cornering her.”
“You’re Dominic Moretti. Your presence is a corner.”
Dominic stared at him.
That was not something anyone else would have dared say.
“What do you want me to do?” Dominic asked.
“Confirm she’s safe.”
“And then?”
“Wait.”
Dominic laughed once.
Without humor.
“I’ve waited six months.”
“And if you rush this, you could wait eighteen years.”
That stopped him.
Vincent lowered his voice.
“You want your child?”
Dominic said nothing.
“You want Lena?”
Dominic’s eyes hardened.
“Yes.”
“Then for once in your life, don’t take what you want.”
The words stayed with him.
So Dominic did something nobody in Chicago believed he was capable of doing.
He waited.
Two months later, Lena learned that someone had been watching her.
Not following.
Watching.
She noticed a black SUV across from the tutoring center.
It appeared once.
Then disappeared.
Three days later, another dark sedan sat near Rachel’s street.
Different vehicle.
Same feeling.
Lena rushed inside that evening.
“Pack a bag.”
Rachel looked up.
“What happened?”
“He found us.”
“You saw Dominic?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
“I know.”
Rachel stood.
“Lena, you’re thirty-two weeks pregnant.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It absolutely matters.”
“I’m not staying here.”
Rachel blocked the hallway.
“Running across the country eight months pregnant is not a plan.”
“I did it before.”
“You weren’t eight months pregnant before.”
Lena grabbed her purse.
Rachel caught her wrist.
“Stop.”
Lena stared at her.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand you’ve spent eight months living like someone is about to break down the door.”
“Because someone might.”
“And has anyone?”
Lena hesitated.
“No.”
“Has Dominic threatened you?”
“No.”
“Has anyone approached you?”
“No.”
Lena pulled her arm free.
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
Rachel crossed her arms.
“Maybe it means he knows where you are and hasn’t touched you.”
Lena stared at her.
The idea frightened her more than not knowing.
That night, she barely slept.
At 3:40 a.m., her phone buzzed.
A text message.
Unknown number.
Only one sentence.
I know you’re safe. That’s enough for now. — D
Lena sat upright.
Her heart hammered.
Rachel stirred on the couch.
“What?”
Lena handed her the phone.
Rachel read it.
“Well.”
Lena stared toward the dark window.
“He knows.”
“Yes.”
“He knows where I am.”
Rachel handed the phone back.
“And he’s giving you space.”
“For now.”
Lena looked at the message again.
She wanted to hate him.
Instead, something painful opened inside her chest.
Her fingers moved before she could stop them.
She typed:
Stay away from me.
The reply came less than a minute later.
I will.
Then another message.
But if you ever need me, call.
Lena stared at the screen.
She did not reply.
For the next seven weeks, Dominic kept his promise.
No calls.
No visits.
No messages.
May you like
Until the night Lena went into labor.
And everything changed.
